willis



(No Model.) 4 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. J. WILLIS.

UMBRELLA AND PARASOL.

No. 319,767. PatentedJune 9, 1885.

JAMES WILLIS, OF ROSENDALE BOURNEMOUTH, COUNTY OF HANTS,

ENGLAND.

UMBRELLA AND PA'RASOL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 319,767, dated June 9, 1885.

Application filed November 27, 1883. (No model.) Patented in England May 1, 1883, No. 2,202,- in France October 30, L83. No. 158,325; in Belgium November 12, 18r3, No. 63,190, and in Germany November 15, 1883, No. 28,805.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, JAMES WILLIS, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, residing at Parasols, (for which I have received Letters get-her with the rib shown by Figs. 7.

Patent in Great Britain,No. 2,202, dated May 1, 1883;, in France, No. 158,325, dated October 30, 1883; in Belgium, No. 63,190, dated November 12,1883, and in Germany, No. 28,805, dated. November 15,1883,) of which the following is a specification.

This invention hasfor its object improvements in umbrellas and parasols, and relates in the first place to the joints by which the ribs and the stretchers are connected.

Figure 1 of the annexed drawings is a side elevation of a joint connecting a rib of an 11111- brella with a stretcher. Fig. 2 isalongitudinal section of the same. Figs. 3 show the parts separately. Figs. 4, 5, and 6 represent a joint connecting the rib of an umbrella or parasol with a three-forked stretcher in which a spring of arched form is employed. Figs. 7 represent the flattened end of one of the ribs. Figs. 8 show the stretcher which I employ to- Fig. 9 shows the positions of these parts when the umbrella or parasol is closed. Figs. 10 show the end of a rib prepared for the formation of the eye. Fig. 11 shows another part used in making the eye. Figs. 12 show these parts combined and the eye complete. Figs. 13 represent a pair of dies employed in forming the tip. Figs. 14 represent another pair of dies subsequently employed. Fig. 15 shows the finished form of tip.

In accordance with my invention I make the springjoints connecting the ribs and stretchers as follows: I use a trough-form rib and a three-fork stretcher. I secure the spring in the hollow of the trough in such a position that it presses on the middle prong of the stretcher-fork beyond the point of pivotal attachment of the stretcher to the rib. The

prong is made squarecornered and with flat or parallel opposite edges, and the spring acting against these causes the stretcher to close on the rib. O is the thrce-fork stretcher.

against and open away from the rib as a spring-knife opens and closes. Figs. 1, 2, and 3 show a spring-joint of this construction.

A is a portion of the rib. B is a git fixed up- D is the spring attached to the rib. D D are two side projections upon the spring, which rest upon the edges of the trough-rib. D isa short tailor heel projection, which is received into the interior of the trough and fixed there by nipping together the two sides. The square end of the central prong of the fork stretcher is clearly seen in the figures. free end of the spring D bearing upon it tends, as the umbrella is closing,to,press the tips of the ribs inward toward the stick; also, as an The additional advantage of this construction, as

the umbrella opens the spring tends to move the runner upward upon the stick and to retain it independently of any catch. This arrangement is applicable either to the lock-rib frame, where, as is shown in the drawings, the rib is received into the hollow of a troughform stretcher, or to the ordinary paragon form of stretcher.

In place of the above construction, I in some cases place into the trough or hollow of the" the spring from moving endwise out of its 3- place. Figs. 4, 5, and 6 show this w. y in which the spring-joint may be made. As in the former figures, A is a portion of the rib. It has agit, A, upon it, which, in this case, is long, so that its two ends (which are turned inward into the interior of the trough) serve as stops to keep the spring D inits place.

The three-pronged stretcher G is somewhat differently formed from that in the figures previously described. The spring, as before, holds the tips of the ribs inward toward the stick when the umbrella or parasol is closed,

. and permit them'to lie against the runner- .the stretcher be forked or not, beyond the and it is permitted to do so by the form which projects on the inner side of the rib, an ar-.

:notched, as is represented at H H in Figs. 10. 'A piece of straight or undoubled wire, in- .stead of the heretofore-employed doubled orlooped wire, is formed, as shown in Fig. 11,

is enlarged by means of a smooth taper punch. 1

and holds the runner up when the umbrella or parasol is opened. The same construction is applicable where the end of the stretcher is single, as it commonly is in parasols and small umbrellas.

It should be noticed that the spring D operates upon the end of the stretcher, whether point of pivotal attachment of the stretcher to the rib, and not elsewhere, with a tendency to hold the rib and stretcher close together when the umbrella is closed.

Another part of my invention relates to umbrellas and parasols having what are known as lock-rib frames, or frames in which the stretchers are of trough form, and when the frame is closed the ribs are received into the strctchers. To reduce the thickness of the umbrella or parasol, I use ribs flattened or spread at the ends, andI so form the troughstretchers as to receive these flattened ends notch. Figs. 7, 8, and 9 show this improvement in the frame. It is of trough-like form, and adapted to receive the rib within it, as usual in a 1ock-rib frame; but its format the end which is jointed to the runner is novel. Here the trough of the stretcher is opened out and the sides are reduced in height to enable the stretcher to receive within it that part of the flattened end-of the rib which comes against it, and to allow the flattened part of the rib to rest against the runner-notch. The runner is.J l3fk6d E, and a portion of the stick is seen a It will be seen the flattened portion of the rib comes in contact with the runner-notch,

has been given to the end of the stretcher.

Another part of my invention relates to a novel manner of forming the eye, by which the cover is sewed to the tip of the rib. It is usual to form this eye in such manner that it rangement which is open to objections, one of which is that the eye rubs against and chafes, the stick, and another that the fabric has; to be drawn around the rib to the eye, which? throws an undue strain on the part sewed and causes the stitches to catch only the single fab-i ric instead of the double fabric at the seam; By my invention I produce on a trough-rib. a central eye passing through the end of the; rib, which is closed to a cylindrical form. For this purpose the end of the rib is first;

with a half-eye or semicircular bend, intermediate its ends, and is'laid within it, and the sides of the trough-rib are bent inward to em-; brace the wire, as seen in Figs. 12. The eye as set forth.

Another part of my inventionflconsists in making the globular ends in which the ribs terminate to project to the front outward from the stick. The way in which I prefer to efiect this is as follows I finish the tip first with a globular head in the usual way, the said .head projecting equally to the back and front. Then I place the head between a pair of dies, such as represented at Figs. 13, and these bend the neck of the tip in such manner asto throwthe globular end outward. The tip is then stamped on its side between tools shown by Figs. 14, and these bring it to the finished form represented at Fig.15 and remove any roughness which mayhave been left bythe previous tools.

Two objects are gained by causing the globular heads on the tips to project tothe front. They are thereby prevented from coming into contact with the stick, and the stick is not injured,andthe projection of the globular heads protects to some extent the stitching and parts of the. fabric which are sewed to the tips, parts which in theme of thenmbrella'ordinarily wear rapidly and render the umbrella unsightly and partly unserviceable. j

Having thus described thenature of my said invention and the manner of performingflthe same, I would haveit understood that I cl aim- 1. The combination of the rib,the stretcher pivoted thereto, and the'spring operating upon the end of the stretcher beyond its point of pivotal attachment to the rib, and not elsewhere,

with a tendency to hold the rib and stretcher close together'when the umbrella is, closed, substantially asset forth. I j v r 2. The combination of the rib,thc stretcher pivoted thereto, and the double-acting spring secured to therib and operating upon the end of the stretcher beyond its point of pivotal attachment to the rib, and not elsewhere,with a tendency to hold the rib'and stretcher close together when the umbrella is closed and to keep. them apart when the umbrella is open, these members being constructed substantially 3. The combination of the trough-like rib, the spring D, having'the side projections, D

D, resting upon the rib, and the tail D, received into the trough of the rib and fixed there by nipping together the rib sides, substantially as set forth;

4. The combination, in a lock-rib fram'e,of the ribs flattened at their outer ends with trough-stretchers shaped to'receive them and admitting of the flattenedj'portion of the rib resting against the notch of the runner, asand for the purpose set forth I JAMES wirn s.

Witnesses:

. J. WA'r'r,

JNo. DEAN, 

